Some of my earliest memories are of helping Mom around the house with dusting, vacuuming, keeping my room tidy and washing dishes while standing on a chair. With both parents working, they made it clear to me that I too had a job— going to school and doing my share of household chores. Always age-appropriate, my tasks were actually lessons in life. If you use the last of the toilet paper, replace it. If you made a mess in the kitchen, clean it up. In other words, be responsible for yourself as much as possible.
To this day I am grateful that as a member of the Posner family, my folks had expectations of me. Being taught my role as a family member at such a young age, and understanding that my chores were just part of life, I gave my parents little trouble when it came to doing what was on my to-do list. I’m not saying I was the perfect child, far from it, but when I would tell my mother that I was “bored” she would quickly suggest that I go out and weed the yard or pick up a dust rag. I learned to keep those types of comments to myself and found ways to stay entertained: Solitaire, television, Elvis records, etc.
One of our readers also believes in doling out chores to his children. Rudy Orozco, aka “Kid Rooter,” recently posted information on the Internet about that very subject. After reading his insightful words, I asked him to send me further comments. I have listed both below.
Posted online:
Many of you know my son Joaquin. It brings me great sadness to inform all of you that Joaquin has begun his training to move out of our home. Joaquin was introduced to his new friend, the lawnmower. It was not a video game, either. Today, he took over the duties of cutting the grass, which used to be his older brother’s responsibility. While many may think he is too young to be preparing to live on his own, I believe it better to be safe than sorry. I have no plans of having him sitting on my sofa watching TV, playing video games or sleeping until noon at age 27, 37 or 47. Now at 7 [years of age], he will begin training to face the world. He will learn to work with his hands, eat some dirt, breathe a few bugs, shed a few tears, but the end results will be worth the pain now. See, he will not have to move back with Daddy the grouch! Everyone wants a good product, but few are willing to take their children through the process. I’m just doing what every dad should do and teach their kids to work!
